Method and communication system for identifying calling/called party

ABSTRACT

A method and communication system is provided to identify a calling/called party when the call is being set up but before the call is answered. In the method, a first terminal and a second terminal are respectively provided with opposing terminal&#39;s image data before the call is answered. The image data of the first and second terminals can be registered in a media server disposed between the first and second terminals, and the image data can be transmitted between the first terminal and the media server and between the second terminal and the media server in accordance with an SIP protocol.

This application is a Reissue Application of U.S. Pat. No. 7,499,528B2issued on Mar. 3, 2009 which is incorporated by reference and whichclaims foreign priority benefits of Korean Patent Application No.10-2004-0013939 filed Mar. 2, 2004 in Republic of Korea. Notice: Morethan one reissue application has been filed for the reissue of U.S. Pat.No. 7,499,528B2. The U.S. reissue applications are application Ser. No.12/859,175 filed Aug. 18, 2010, application Ser. No. 12/859,201 filedAug. 18, 2010, application Ser. No. 12/859,207 filed Aug. 18, 2010,application Ser. No. 12/859,216 filed Aug. 18, 2010, application Ser.No. 12/859,225 filed Aug. 18, 2010, and application Ser. No. 13/020,319filed Feb. 3, 2011.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a communication system, and moreparticularly, to a method and communication system for identifying acalling/called party (sender/caller or recipient) before calling oranswering.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various methods of identifying the calling/called party are beingintroduced.

There is a well-known method of transmitting the caller's phone numberto the recipient's terminal during the ringing signal or when the callis being set up but before the call is answered, such that the recipientcan see the caller's phone number on the terminal display. However, ifthe recipient does not know the phone number, the recipient cannotidentify the caller.

In another method, caller's name, avatar/image as well as the caller'sphone number, which are previously stored in the recipient's terminal,are displayed on the terminal display. However, the recipient cannotalso identify the caller with this method when the caller's name andavatar/image are not stored in the recipient terminal.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method andcommunication system for identifying a calling/called party thatsubstantially obviates one or more problems due to limitations anddisadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a method andcommunication system for identifying a calling/called party, in whichimage data of a calling party can be transmitted to a called partywithout adding additional software and hardware, thereby decreasingmanufacturing and operating costs.

Additional advantages, objects, and features of the invention will beset forth in part in the description which follows and in part willbecome apparent to those having ordinary skill in the art uponexamination of the following or may be learned from practice of theinvention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention may berealized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in thewritten description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with thepurpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, amethod of identifying a calling/called party includes the steps of:registering image data of a calling party in a first terminal;transmitting the image data and a call request of the first terminal toa second terminal via a media server; and displaying the image data ofthe calling party on the second terminal.

In another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a methodof identifying a calling/called party, including the steps of:registering image data of calling party and called party in a mediaserver in accordance with a call condition; transmitting a call requestand an image data forwarding request of a first terminal to the mediaserver; transmitting the registered image data of the calling party fromthe media server to a second terminal in response to the image dataforwarding request; and displaying the image data of the calling partyon the second terminal.

In a further another aspect of the present invention, there is provideda communication system for identifying a calling/called party,including: a first terminal having a communication unit for requesting acall, an SIP system for transmitting image data of a calling party andreceiving image data of a called party, a display for displaying theimage data of the called party, and an image database for registeringthe image data of the calling party; a media server having an SIP systemfor transmitting the image data of the calling party received from thefirst terminal to the called party and transmitting the image data ofthe called party to the first terminal, an image database forregistering the image data of the called party in accordance with a callcondition, and means for selecting one of the image data of the calledparty corresponding to the call condition; and a second terminal havinga communication unit for responding to the call requested from the firstterminal to open a communication channel with the first terminal, an SIPsystem for receiving the image data of the calling party from the firstterminal, and a display for displaying the image data of the callingparty.

In a still further another aspect of the present invention, there isprovided a communication system for identifying a calling/called party,including: a first terminal having a communication unit for requesting acall, an SIP system for transmitting an image data forwarding request ofa calling party and receiving image data of a called party, and adisplay for displaying the image data of the called party; a mediaserver having an SIP system for transmitting the image data of thecalling party to the called party in response to the image dataforwarding request and transmitting the image data of the called partyto the first terminal, an image database for registering the image datain accordance with a call condition, and means for selecting one of theimage data of the called party corresponding to the call condition; anda second terminal having a communication unit for responding to the callrequested from the first terminal to open a communication channel withthe first terminal, an SIP system for receiving the image data of thecalling party from the first terminal, and a display for displaying theimage data of the calling party.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description of the present invention areexemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide furtherexplanation of the invention as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this application, illustrate embodiment(s) of the invention andtogether with the description serve to explain the principle of theinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diaphragm of a communication system according to apreferred embodiment the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method of transmitting an avatar dataregistered in a terminal according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of transmitting an avatar dataregistered in a media server according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of thepresent invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 is a block diaphragm of a communication system according to apreferred embodiment the present invention;

Referring to FIG. 1, an communication system includes: a first andsecond terminals 10 and 30 for making a call and answering the call; anda media server 20 for transmitting image data of the calling party tothe called party, transmitting image data of the called party to thecalling party, and storing the image data.

The image data can be any kind of picture or character, such as anavatar, a still picture, a moving picture, and a text so long as thecalling party and called party can be identified with the image data.The avatar is an image of a person used to represent somebody, and it isavailable from the Internet. The still picture and moving picture can bestored using a camera of a terminal. The text can be used to identifythe calling party or the called party instead of the avatar or thepictures. For example, the text may include personal information such asphysical and characteristic information.

Both the first terminal 10 and the second terminal 30 are capable ofmaking and answering a call. Therefore, the first terminal 10 may be acalling terminal and the second terminal 30 answering terminal, and viceversa.

In the embodiments of the present invention, the first terminal 10 isillustrated as a calling terminal and the second terminal 30 isillustrated as an answering terminal.

The elements of the first terminal 10 and the second terminal aresimilar. That is, the first and second terminals 10 and 30 may includecommunication units 11 and 31, session initiation protocol (SIP) systems12 and 32, image databases 17 and 37, and displays 18 and 38,respectively.

Each of the communication units 11 and 31 is capable of requesting acall and accepting a call request. For example, when the calling partyrequests a call with the communication unit 11 of the first terminal 10,the communication unit 31 of the second terminal 30 receives therequested call and generates a ringing signal or activates a vibrationmechanism for the called party. If the called party accepts therequested call, the communication unit 31 sends a call-accepting messageto the communication unit 11 to open a communication channel between thefirst terminal 10 and second terminal 30. That is, the communicationunits 11 and 31 are provided to request a call, accept the call, andopen/close the communication channel.

A base station, a mobile switching center, and other stations (not shownin FIG. 1) may be located between the communication unit 11 and thecommunication unit 31 for the communication therebetween. The callrequested at the communication unit 11 may be transmitted to thecommunication unit 31 via the base station, the mobile switching center,and other stations. Also, the call-accepting message at thecommunication unit 31 may be transmitted to the communication unit 11via the base station, the mobile switching center, and other stations.

The SIP systems 12 and 32 set and release SIP channel connections. Also,the SIP systems 12 and 32 send data to the other locations and receivereceipt notification messages from the other locations. For thispurpose, the SIP systems 12 and 32 may include SIP connectionsetup/release units 14 and 34, and real time transport protocol/realtime control protocol (RTP/RTCP) transmitting units 16 and 36,respectively.

The SIP connection setup/release units 14 and 34 are provided to set SIPchannel connections between the first terminal 10 and the media server20 and between the second terminal 30 and the media server 20 beforeopening RTP/RTCP channels therebetween. That is, the RTP/RTCP channelsare opened after the SIP channel connections are set. Therefore, thefirst terminal 10 can transmit RTP data (e.g., avatar data of thecalling party) to the media server 20, and the second terminal 30 canreceive the avatar data of the calling party from the media server 20.Also, the first terminal 10 can receive a receipt notification message(e.g., a BYE message) from the media server 20 after transmitting theavatar data of the calling party to the media server 20, and the mediaserver 20 can receive a receipt notification message from the secondterminal 30 after transmitting the avatar data of the calling party tothe second terminal 30.

After this communication operation, the SIP connection setup/releaseunits 14 and 34 release the SIP channel connections.

Preferably, the SIP systems 12 and 32 operate in association with thecommunication units 11 and 31. That is, the SIP system 12 operates whenthe communication unit 11 sends the call request to the communicationunit 31. Also, the SIP system 32 operates to receive the avatar data ofthe calling party from the media server 20 when the communication unit31 receives the call request.

The SIP system 12 operates at the same time when the communication unit11 sends the call request. Foremost, the SIP connection setup/releaseunit 14 of the SIP system 12 sets the SIP channel connection to connectthe first terminal 10 with the media server 20.

Then, the RTP/RTCP transmitting unit 16 transmits the avatar dataaccording to the following ways:

In one way, the avatar data registered in the first terminal 10 aretransmitted to the second terminal 30 through the media server 20 inaccordance with the RTP protocol.

In another way, the avatar data of the calling party are previouslyregistered in the media server 20, and the media server 20 transmits theavatar data to the called party in accordance with the RTP protocol whenrequested to send the avatar data to the called party.

The former will now be more fully described and the latter will bedescribed later in association with the media server 20.

The avatar data may be registered in the image database 17 of the firstterminal 10. It will be apparent to those of skill in the art that theavatar data include still picture data, moving picture data, text data,etc., as well as the avatar data. Meanwhile, the image database 37 ofthe second terminal 30 is not necessary in this way because the avatardata of the called party are already registered in the media server 20.

Further, another avatar data of another called party may be registeredin the image database 17 if the first terminal 10 have requested a callat least one time to the another called party.

The RTP/RTCP transmitting unit 16 reads the avatar data of the callingparty from the image database 17 and transmits the avatar data to themedia server 20 through the RTP channel. The media server 20 transmitsthe received avatar data to the second terminal 30 for displaying theavatar data on the display 38 of the second terminal 30.

Herein, the media server 20 sends a receipt notification message (e.g.,a BYE message) to the first terminal 10 through the RTCP channel thetime when the media server 20 receives the avatar data of the callingparty from the first terminal 10. Therefore, the first terminal 10 canbe informed that the avatar data are successfully transmitted to themedia server 20.

When the avatar data of the calling party are displayed on the display38 of the second terminal 30, the display 18 of the first terminal 10displays the avatar data of the called party received from the mediaserver 20.

The display of avatar data of the called party on the display 18 of thefirst terminal 10 will be more fully described later when the overalloperation of the communication system of the present invention isdescribed.

The second terminal 30 has the similar configuration to the firstterminal 10. Since the second terminal 30 is illustrated as an answeringterminal, the avatar data of the calling party are displayed on thedisplay 38 of the second terminal 30.

In case the second terminal 30 is a calling terminal, an avatar dataregistered in the image database 37 of the second terminal 30 may betransmitted to the first terminal 10 to display the avatar data on thedisplay 18.

The media server 20 may include an SIP system 22, a scheduling unit 27,and an image database 28.

In case the avatar data of the calling party are registered in the firstterminal 10, the avatar data of the calling party may not be registeredin the image database 28 of the media server 20. In this case, theavatar data of the calling party may be transmitted from the firstterminal 10 to the second terminal 30 via the media server 20. The mediaserver 20 may temporarily store the avatar data of the calling partyduring transmission of the avatar data of the calling party, and thetemporarily stored avatar data may be deleted or not deleted after thetransmission.

The SIP system 22 of the media server 20 is compatible with the SIPsystems 12 and 32 of the first and second terminals 10 and 30. The SIPsystem 22 may include an SIP connection setup/release unit 24 and anRTP/RTCP transmitting unit 26 to correspond with the SIP systems 12 and32.

When the SIP connection setup/release unit 14 sends an SIP channelconnection request to the media server 20, the media server 20 acceptsthe request and sets the SIP channel connection with the first terminal10. Through the SIP channel, the first terminal 10 can send the avatardata of the calling party (RTP data) to the media server 20, and themedia server 20 can send the receipt notification message (e.g., a BYEmessage) to the first terminal 10 in response to the received avatardata.

The scheduling unit 27 and the image database 28 may be provided toregister the avatar data of the calling/called party.

The calling and called parties can register different avatar data fordifferent call conditions.

For example, the called party can register different avatar data in theimage database 28 for different call conditions, such as when ready toreceive a call, receiving another call, has the terminal 30 powered off,and incapable of receiving a call (e.g., when in a theater, a meeting,or a bathroom).

The scheduling unit 27 checks the call condition of the called party andselects one of the avatar data corresponding to the checked callcondition. Also, other data such as identifiers, phone numbers, as wellas the avatar data can be registered in the image database 28 for boththe calling and called parties.

In this manner, the avatar data are registered and set according to thecall condition. Therefore, when the first terminal 10 sends a callrequest and an avatar data forwarding request, the media server 20searches the avatar data of the image database 28 according to theidentifier or phone number of the calling party to find an avatarcorresponding to the calling party and sends the avatar to the secondterminal 30, such that the avatar of the calling party can be displayedon the display 38 of the second terminal 30.

Further, the media server 20 checks the call condition of the secondterminal 30, selects an avatar corresponding to the call condition formthe image database 28, and sends the avatar to the first terminal 10 fordisplaying on the display 18.

Hereinafter, a method of identifying a calling/called party will now bedescribed. There are two ways of transmitting the avatar data: one wayis to transmit the avatar data that are registered in the terminal 10 orterminal 30, and another way is to transmit the avatar data that arepreviously registered in the media server 20.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method of transmitting an avatar dataregistered in a terminal according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention; and

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, avatar data of the calling party areregistered in the image database 17 of the first terminal 10 inoperation S41. Herein, the avatar data of the calling party are notregistered in the media server 20. The avatar data may include stillpicture data, moving picture data, text data, as well as avatar data.The avatar data are image data representing a person and it is availablefrom the Internet. Also, the still picture and moving picture data maybe picture data of the calling party taken with a camera such as abuilt-in camera of the terminal 10. Information about the calling partymay be contained in the text data to represent the calling party. Thecalling party can register one of the avatar data, the still picturedata, the moving picture data, the text data, and a combination thereof.

In operation S42, the first terminal 10 of the calling party transmits acall request to the second terminal 30 of the called party. The way ofthe call request is well known in the art.

In operation S43, the SIP channel connection is set between the firstterminal 10 and the media server 20. After the SIP channel is set, dataand control signals can be transmitted between the first terminal 10 andthe media server 20.

In operation S44, the first terminal 10 transmits the avatar data of thecalling party from the image database 17 to the media server 20 throughthe RTP channel in the form of packet.

In operation S45, the media server 20 sends a receipt notificationmessage (e.g., a BYE message) to the first terminal 10 through the RTCPchannel when the media server 20 receives the avatar data of the callingparty.

In operation S46, the media server 20 transmits the received avatar dataof the calling party to the second terminal 30 through the RTP channelbetween the media server 20 and the second terminal 30. After the avatardata of the calling party are transmitted to the second terminal 30, theavatar data may be deleted from the media server 20. The RTP and RTCPchannels are opened between the media server 20 and the second terminal30 before the avatar data of the calling party are transmitted to thesecond terminal 30. The called party can open the RTP and RTCP channelsby manipulating the second terminal 30, for example, pressing an “ON”button.

In operation S47, the second terminal 30 displays the received avatardata of the calling party. Therefore, the called party of the secondterminal 30 can exactly identify the calling party through thedisplaying avatar data. The second terminal 30 may register the receivedavatar data of the calling party in the image database 37 to display theregistered avatar data instead of repeatedly receiving the avatar datafrom the first terminal 10 when the first terminal 10 requests a callagain.

In operation S48, the media server 20 asks the second terminal 30 for acall condition through the RTCP channel, and correspondingly the secondterminal 30 sends its call condition to the media server 20 through theRTCP channel, such that the media server 20 can check the call conditionof the second terminal 30.

When the calling party makes a call to the called party, the calledparty may be in various situations such as when ready to receive a call,receiving another call, being on duty, and incapable of receiving acall. Also, the second terminal 30 of the called party may be power-offor incapable of receiving a call. The term “call condition(s)” is usedto denote such situations and conditions. That is, when the media server20 asks the second terminal 30 for the call condition, the secondterminal 30 may inform the media server 20 of its call condition amongsuch situations and conditions. The call condition checking operation iswell known to those of skill in the art.

In operation S49, the media server 20 selects an avatar of avatar dataof the called party corresponding to the checked call condition from theimage database 28. For this operation, the called party can registeravatar data having different avatars, pictures and texts in imagedatabase 28 of the media server 20 for different call conditions. Also,since the calling party of the first terminal 10 can be a called party,the calling party of the first terminal 10 can register his/her avatardata in the image database 28 for different call conditions.

In operation S50, the media server 20 transmits the selected avatar ofthe called party to the first terminal 10 through the RTP channel.

In operation S51, the first terminal 10 displays the received avatar ofthe called party. The first terminal 10 may register the received avatarof the called party in its image database 17 for later usage, for thesame purpose as is described in operation S47.

In operation S52, the SIP channel connection between the 10 and themedia server 20 is released.

Therefore, each of the calling party and the called party can see theavatar of the opposing party when making and answering a call, therebyexactly identifying the opposing party.

If the second terminal 30 accepts the call request of the first terminal10 in operation S53, communication channel between the first and secondterminals 10 and 30 is open for the communication therebetween inoperation S54.

After the communication between the terminals 10 and 30, thecommunication channel is closed as is well known in the art.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a method of transmitting an avatar datapreviously registered in a media server according to a preferredembodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, avatar data for different call conditionsare registered in the media server 20 in operation S61. Both the calledparty and the calling party can register their avatar data for theirdifferent call conditions, and the avatar data may be registeredtogether with identifiers and phone numbers.

The terminals 10 and 30 do not store opposing party's avatar data. Butthe terminals 10 and 30 may store the opposing party's avatar data aftera call (described later).

The avatar data may include still picture data, moving picture data,text data, etc., as well as avatar data.

The avatar data may be registered in the media server with the firstterminal 10, the second terminal 30, a personal computer (PC), or otherdevices.

In operation S62, the calling party of the first terminal 10 requests acall to the media server 20. The operation of the call request is wellknown in the art.

In operation S63, the SIP channel connection is set between the firstterminal 10 and the media server 20 in response to the call request.After the SIP channel is set, data and control signals can betransmitted between the first terminal 10 and the media server 20.

In operation S64, the first terminal 10 transmits an avatar dataforwarding request to the media server 20 through the RTP channel. Sincethe avatar data of the calling party are already registered in the mediaserver 20, the first terminal 10 can request the media server 20 to sendthe avatar data of the calling party to the second terminal 30 bytransmitting the avatar data forwarding request.

In operation S65, the media server 20 sends a receipt notificationmessage (e.g., a BYE message) to the first terminal 10 through the RTCPchannel when the media server 20 receives the avatar data forwardingrequest. That is, the media server 20 sends the receipt notificationmessage to inform the first terminal 10 that the avatar data forwardingrequest is successfully received. Therefore, the first terminal 10 cancheck that its avatar data forwarding request is successfullytransmitted to the media server 20.

In operation S66, the media server 20 transmits the avatar data of thecalling party from the image database 28 to the second terminal 30through the RTP channel in response to the avatar data forwardingrequest. The second terminal 30 may request to open the RTP and RTCPchannels between the media server 20 and the second terminal 30 beforethe avatar data of the calling party are transmitted to the secondterminal 30. That is, the called party can open the RTP and RTCPchannels by manipulating the second terminal 30, for example, pressingan “ON” button.

In operation S67, the second terminal 30 displays the received avatardata of the calling party. Therefore, the called party of the secondterminal 30 can exactly identify the calling party through thedisplaying avatar data. The second terminal 30 may register the receivedavatar data of the calling party in the image database 37 to displaythem instead of repeatedly receiving the avatar data from the mediaserver 20 when the first terminal 10 requests a call again.

In operation S68, the media server 20 asks the second terminal 30 for acall condition through the RTCP channel, and correspondingly the secondterminal 30 sends its call condition to the media server 20 through theRTCP channel, such that the media server 20 can check the call conditionof the second terminal 30.

The term “call condition” denotes the same meaning as described above.

In operation S69, the media server 20 selects an avatar of the avatardata of the called party corresponding to the checked call conditionfrom the image database 28. Since the avatar data having differentavatars, pictures and texts that are previously registered in imagedatabase 28 of the media server 20 for different call conditions, themedia server 20 can easily select the avatar corresponding to the callcondition.

In operation S70, the media server 20 transmits the selected avatar ofthe called party to the first terminal 10 through the RTP channel.

In operation S71, the first terminal 10 displays the received avatar ofthe called party. The first terminal 10 may register the received avatarof the called party in its image database 17 for later usage, for thesame purpose as is described in operation S67.

In operation S72, the SIP channel connection between the 10 and themedia server 20 is released.

Therefore, each of the calling party and the called party can see theavatar of the opposing party when making and answering a call, therebyexactly identifying the opposing party.

If the second terminal 30 accepts the call request of the first terminal10 in operation S73, communication channel between the first and secondterminals 10 and 30 is open for the communication therebetween inoperation S74.

After the communication between the terminals 10 and 30, thecommunication channel is closed as is well known in the art.

As described above, the calling party and called party easily identifythe opposing party using the SIP protocol, such that the called partycan selectively answer the call depending on the calling party, and thecalling party can be informed promptly when dialing a wrong number.

Further, in case the calling party does not register the avatar data inthe media server, the calling party can utilize the avatar data ofhis/her terminal to transmit the avatar to the called party when makinga call.

Furthermore, when the called party receives a call at least one timefrom the calling party, the called party can register the avatar data ofthe calling party in the terminal for later usage, such that theterminal of the called party can display the registered avatar datainstead of repeatedly receiving the avatar data when the same callingparty called. In the same way, when the calling party requests a call tothe called party, the calling party can register the avatar datareceived from the called party for later usage instead of repeatedlyreceiving the avatar data of the called party.

The method and communication system of the present invention provides aneasy way of identifying the calling/called party by utilizing the wellknown SIP protocol without adding additional software and hardware.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that variousmodifications and variations can be made in the present invention. Thus,it is intended that the present invention covers the modifications andvariations of this invention provided they come within the scope of theappended claims and their equivalents.

1. A method of identifying a calling party and call conditions of acalled party, comprising the steps of: registering image data of acalling party in at least one a first terminal or a media server;transmitting the image data and a call request of the first terminal toa second terminal via the media server; displaying the image data of thecalling party on the second terminal; transmitting image data of thecalled party previously registered in the media server to the firstterminal when at least one of the image data or the call request istransmitted to the media server, wherein the image data of the calledparty include different images for different call conditions; anddisplaying the image data of the called party on the first terminal. 2.The method according to claim 1, wherein the media server checks thedifferent call condition of the called party, selects an imagecorresponding to the different call condition from an image database ofthe media server, and sends the image to the calling party fordisplaying on a display of the calling party.
 3. The method according toclaim 2, wherein the different call conditions include ready to receivea call, receiving another call, terminal powered off, or incapable ofreceiving a call.
 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stepof transmitting the image data of the called party to the first terminalincludes the steps of: the media server requesting a call condition ofthe second terminal; sending the call condition of the second terminalto the media server; selecting an image corresponding to the callcondition from the image data registered in the media server; andtransmitting the selected image to the first terminal.
 5. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the image data of the called partytransmitted to the first terminal is registered in the first terminal.6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the image data of thecalling party transmitted to the second terminal is registered in thesecond terminal.
 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the imagedata of the calling party are selected from the group consisting ofavatar data, still picture data, moving picture data, text data, andcombinations thereof.
 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein theimage data of the calling party and the image data corresponding to thedifferent call conditions of the called party are transmitted throughRTP (real time transport protocol) channels after SIP (sessioninitiation protocol) channel connections are set between the firstterminal and the media server and between the media server and thesecond terminal.
 9. A method of identifying another party, comprisingthe steps of: registering image data of a calling party and differentimage data corresponding to call conditions of a called party in a mediaserver; transmitting a call request and an image data forwarding requestof a first terminal to the media server; transmitting the registeredimage data of the calling party from the media server to a secondterminal in response to the image data forwarding request; anddisplaying the image data of the calling party on the second terminal.10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of:when the image data forwarding request of the first terminal istransmitted to the media server, transmitting the image datacorresponding to the call conditions of the called party from the mediaserver to the first terminal; and displaying the image data of thecalled party on the first terminal.
 11. The method according to claim10, wherein the step of transmitting the image data corresponding to thcall conditions of the called party to the first terminal includes thesteps of: the media server requesting a call condition of the secondterminal; sending the call condition of the second terminal to the mediaserver; selecting an image corresponding to the call condition from themedia server; and transmitting the selected image to the first terminal.12. The method according to claim 10, wherein the image data of thecalled party transmitted to the first terminal is registered in thefirst terminal.
 13. The method according to claim 9 wherein the imagedata of the calling party transmitted to the second terminal isregistered in the second terminal.
 14. The method according to claim 9,wherein the image data of the calling party are selected from the groupconsisting of avatar data, still picture data, moving picture data, textdata, and combinations thereof.
 15. The method according to claim 9,wherein the image data of the calling party and the image datacorresponding to the call conditions of the called party are transmittedthrough RTP channels after SIP channel connections are set between thefirst terminal and the media server and between the media server and thesecond terminal.
 16. A communication system for identifying anotherparty, comprising: a first terminal having a communication unit forrequesting a call, an SIP system for transmitting image data of acalling party and receiving image data corresponding to a call conditionof a called party, a display for displaying the image data of the calledparty, and an image database for registering the image data of thecalling party; a media server having an SIP system for transmitting theimage data of the calling party received from the first terminal to thecalled party and transmitting the image data corresponding to the callcondition of the called party to the first terminal, an image databasefor registering the image data of the called party in accordance withthe call condition, and means for selecting one of the image data of thecalled party corresponding to the call condition; and a second terminalhaving a communication unit for responding to the call requested fromthe first terminal to open a communication channel with the firstterminal, an SIP system for receiving the image data of the callingparty from the first terminal, and a display for displaying the imagedata of the calling party.
 17. The communication system according toclaim 16, wherein the image data corresponding to different callconditions of the called party are registered in the image database ofthe media server through the second terminal or other communicationmeans.
 18. The communication system according to claim 16, wherein theimage data of the calling party and the image data corresponding to thecall condition of the called party are transmitted through an RTPchannel.
 19. A communication system for identifying another party,comprising: a first terminal having a communication unit for requestinga call, an SIP system for transmitting an image data forwarding requestof a calling party and receiving image data corresponding to a callcondition of a called party, and a display for displaying the image dataof the called party; a media server having an SIP system fortransmitting the image data of the calling party to the called party inresponse to the image data forwarding request and transmitting the imagedata corresponding to a call condition of the called party to the firstterminal, an image database for registering the image data in accordancewith the call condition, and means for selecting one of the image dataof the called party corresponding to the call condition; and a secondterminal having a communication unit for responding to the callrequested from the first terminal to open a communication channel withthe first terminal, an SIP system for receiving the image data of thecalling party from the first terminal, and a display for displaying theimage data of the calling party.
 20. The communication system accordingto claim 19, wherein the registered image data in the image databaseinclude the image data of the calling party and the image datacorresponding to different call conditions of the called party.
 21. Thecommunication system according to claim 19, wherein the image data areregistered in the image database through the first terminal, the secondterminal, or other communication means.
 22. The communication systemaccording to claim 19, wherein the image data of the calling party andthe image data corresponding to the call condition of the called partyare transmitted through an RTP channel.
 23. A method of identifying callconditions of a called party, comprising the steps of: transmitting acall request of the first terminal to a second terminal via a mediaserver; transmitting image data of the called party to the firstterminal, wherein the image data of the called party include differentimages for different call conditions; and displaying the image data ofthe called party on the first terminal.
 24. A method of identifyinganother party, comprising the steps of: registering different image datacorresponding to call conditions of a second terminal; transmitting acall request of a first terminal to the second terminal; transmittingthe registered image data corresponding to the call condition of thesecond terminal; and displaying the image data received from the secondterminal on the first terminal.
 25. A communication system foridentifying another party, comprising: a first terminal having acommunication unit for requesting a call, an SIP system for receivingimage data corresponding to a call condition of a called party, and adisplay for displaying the image data of the called party; a mediaserver having an SIP system for transmitting the image datacorresponding to the call condition of the called party to the firstterminal, an image database for registering the image data of the calledparty in accordance with the call condition, and means for selecting oneof the image data of the called party corresponding to the callcondition; and a second terminal having a communication unit forresponding to the call requested from the first terminal to open acommunication channel with the first terminal.
 26. A communicationterminal for placing a call, the communication terminal comprising: astorage unit configured to register image data identifying thecommunication terminal; a communication unit configured to transmitand/or receive signals; and a controller configured to control thecommunication unit to: transmit a call request of the communicationterminal to a called terminal; transmit the registered image dataidentifying the communication terminal to the called terminal beforeaccepting the call request by the called terminal, wherein the imagedata identifying the communication terminal include at least one ofavatar data, still picture data, moving picture data, or a combinationthereof; and receive call condition information of the called terminal,the call condition information of the called terminal identifying a callcondition of the called terminal.
 27. The communication terminal ofclaim 26, wherein the image data identifying the communication terminalis transmitted to the called terminal through a media server.
 28. Thecommunication terminal of claim 26, the controller further configuredto: display, on a display unit of the communication terminal, thereceived call condition information identifying the call condition ofthe called terminal.
 29. A method for identifying at least one terminalin a calling terminal, comprising: registering image data foridentifying the calling terminal in a storage unit of a media server;transmitting, by the calling terminal, a call request to a calledterminal via the media server; transmitting, by the calling terminal,the registered image data of the calling terminal to the called terminalvia the media server before accepting the call request by the calledterminal, wherein the image data include at least one of avatar data,still picture data, moving picture data, or a combination; and receivingcall condition information of the called terminal, the call conditioninformation of the called terminal identifying a call condition of thecalled terminal.
 30. The method of claim 29, wherein the image dataidentifying the calling terminal is transmitted to the called terminalthrough a media server.
 31. The method of claim 29, further comprising:displaying the received call condition information identifying the callcondition of the called terminal.
 32. A communication terminal foridentifying a calling terminal, the communication terminal comprising: astorage unit; a display unit; a communication unit configured totransmit and/or receive signals; and a controller configured to controlthe storage unit, the display unit and the communication unit to:receive image data identifying the calling terminal from a media server;register the image data of the calling terminal in the storage unit soas to identify the calling terminal when the communication terminalreceives a call request from the calling terminal; receive a callrequest from the calling terminal; display, on the display unit, theregistered image data of the calling terminal in response to thereceived call request to identify the calling terminal, wherein theimage data of the calling terminal include at least one of avatar data,still picture data, moving picture data, or a combination thereof; andtransmit call condition information of the communication terminal to thecalling terminal, the call condition information of the communicationterminal identifying a current call condition of the communicationterminal.
 33. The communication terminal of claim 32, wherein thedisplay unit displays the registered image data of the calling terminalbefore accepting the call request by the communication terminal.
 34. Thecommunication terminal of claim 32, wherein the transmitted callcondition information of the communication terminal is selected from oneof different images based on the current call condition of thecommunication terminal, the different images corresponding to thedifferent call conditions.
 35. A method for identifying a callingterminal in a called terminal, the method comprising: receiving imagedata of the calling terminal from a media server, the image dataidentifying, the calling terminal; registering, in a storage unit of thecalled terminal, the image data of the calling terminal, wherein theimage data of the calling terminal is registered for identifying thecalling terminal when the called terminal receives call requests fromthe calling terminal; receiving, by the called terminal, a call requestfrom the calling terminal; displaying, on a display unit of the calledterminal, the registered image data of the calling terminal in responseto the received call request to identify the calling terminal, whereinthe image data of the calling terminal includes at least one of avatardata, still picture data, moving picture data, or a combination thereof;and transmitting call condition information of the called terminal tothe calling terminal, the call condition information of the calledterminal identifying a current call condition of the called terminal.36. The method of claim 35, wherein the displaying step is performedbefore accepting the call request of the calling terminal by the calledterminal.
 37. The method of claim 35, wherein the transmitted callcondition information of the called terminal is selected from one ofdifferent images based on the current call condition of the calledterminal, the different images corresponding to the different callconditions.